From Soviets to oligarchs: inequality and property in Russia 1905-2016

This paper combines national accounts, survey, wealth and fiscal data (including recently released tax data on high-income taxpayers) in order to provide consistent series on the accumulation and distribution of income and wealth in Russia from the Soviet period until the present day. We find that o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of economic inequality 2018-06, Vol.16 (2), p.189-223
Main Authors: Novokmet, Filip, Piketty, Thomas, Zucman, Gabriel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communists
Development Economics
Economic Growth
Economics
Economics and Finance
Foreign exchange reserves
Humanities and Social Sciences
Income distribution
Income tax
Inequality
International Economics
Personal income
Political Science
Public Finance
Rich
Surveys
Zucman, Gabriel
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Summary:This paper combines national accounts, survey, wealth and fiscal data (including recently released tax data on high-income taxpayers) in order to provide consistent series on the accumulation and distribution of income and wealth in Russia from the Soviet period until the present day. We find that official survey-based measures vastly under-estimate the rise of inequality since 1990. According to our benchmark estimates, top income shares are now similar to (or higher than) the levels observed in the United States. We also find that inequality has increased substantially more in Russia than in China and other ex-communist countries in Eastern Europe. We relate this finding to the specific transition strategy followed in Russia. According to our benchmark estimates, the wealth held offshore by rich Russians is about three times larger than official net foreign reserves, and is comparable in magnitude to total household financial assets held in Russia.
ISSN:1569-1721
1573-8701
DOI:10.1007/s10888-018-9383-0